The controversy surrounding the 70th BPSC examination has taken a serious turn, with Leader of Opposition in Bihar Tejashwi Yadav levelling allegations of malpractice and institutional corruption in the recruitment processes.

Tejashwi Yadav has written a letter to Chief Minister Nitish Kumar outlining eight demands, emphasising the need for transparency and fairness in competitive examinations.

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Yadav has alleged that the examination conducted on December 13, 2024, was marred by malpractice, pointing to systemic corruption within the Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC).

“The cancellation of the examination at the Bapu Examination Centre in Patna and the re-examination at the same venue is a measure aimed at concealing institutional flaws,” Yadav said in his letter.

The RJD leader claimed that BPSC had used employees from a private agency, rather than government employees, to conduct such a significant exam. He strongly criticised the credibility of the examination process.

Tejashwi pointed out that all future exams must be conducted solely by government employees, and advocated for removing private agencies from the process.

“I want to urge the Chief Minister to Identify and penalise those responsible for the malpractice in the December 13 exam. I also demand a high-level independent inquiry into the allegations of corruption in the BPSC,” he said.

Tejashwi demanded a comprehensive reform in BPSC to ensure transparency and eliminate corruption in government recruitment. The state government should provide suitable remedies or compensation to candidates whose efforts were undermined by the irregularities, establish a mechanism to hold the Commission accountable for lapses and ensure the integrity of the merit-based selection process without external influences or biases.

He claimed that reports of irregularities were not limited to the Bapu Examination Centre but also emerged from several other centres. The BPSC has acknowledged the lapses, which indicates systemic flaws.

“I demand the cancellation of the entire 70th Preliminary Examination and the organisation of a re-examination for all candidates to ensure fairness,” Yadav said.

He further said around 90,000 registered candidates were allegedly unable to complete the application process due to corruption and procedural inefficiencies. He advocated for allowing these candidates to fill out the examination form and participate in the re-examination.

“Allegations levelled by students that private coaching institutes predicted more than 25 per cent of the questions in the paper raise concerns about potential leaks. A thorough investigation is needed into it. An independent and impartial judicial probe is required to investigate the widespread irregularities,” he said.

Tejashwi Yadav in his letter said thousands of candidates have been protesting in harsh weather conditions, expressing discontent with the BPSC’s handling of the situation.

He criticised the insensitive behaviour of the state government towards the agitating students.

Tejashwi urged Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to cancel the 70th Preliminary Examination to eliminate doubts about fairness. He said that the Commission should announce a re-examination date with clear guidelines to rebuild candidate confidence.